Yorkshire Dales And Lake District National Parks To Be Extended
This article on the BBC gives full details on the extension of these National Parks, which now almost meet along the M6.
Lake District And Yorkshire Dales National Parks
This map was taken from the BBC article. The extensions are shown in lighter colours.
I haven’t seen an accurate map yet, but it does appear that more of the southern end of the iconic Settle and Carlisle Line is now included in a National Park.
York Potash Haven’t Wasted Much Time
This article in the Teeside Gazette is entitled York Potash jobs: How to apply at massive project expected to employ more than 1,000. The first paragraph is.
York Potash project boss pledge: ‘If we can employ every single one of our team from the local area – then we will’
In my book a thousand jobs is good news, so why is only the local paper reporting it?
Bat Bridges In Norfolk
The One Show on the BBC has just had a piece about how £300,000 was spent on special bat bridges over the A11 in Norfolk.
Now anybody with Suffolk connections will tell you that they are a bit funny up north, but surely not three hundred grand funny!
To bring the other East Anglian county into the piece, the BBC had also had an interview with a bat Professor from Cambridge University, who had found that the bats weren’t using their expensive highway.
For some years, I’ve always believed that bats are not stupid animals. After all, they can fly!
I was putting up offices on my stud, and in the middle of the cart shed we would be demolishing, the council planning officer thought he saw some bat droppings.
So I called in an expert, from Cambridge University! As one does!
The expert felt there might be the odd evidence of bats, but not to worry as bats often have as many as three roosts and swap between them for various reasons.
He told the council planning officer that the bats wouldn’t mind my new offices.
I do wonder if protesters use the possible existence of bats as a means to stop a development.
Will The Fight Continue Over Potash On The York Moors?
This article on Grough is entitled Campaigners fight on as North York Moors potash mine formally approved.
As the mine could employ upwards of a couple of thousand people, have the campaigners sent personal letters to all the redundant steelworkers explaining how it is more important that they are unemployed?
How can people be so selfish?
Thoughts On Credit Cards
I have recently been trying to buy something on IKEA using my John Lewis Partnership Card, which is managed by HSBC.
Twice it has gone through IKEA’s site, but then HSBC have deemed the transaction to be fraudulent and have cancelled it. In one case I waited in all day for a non-existent delivery.
My other preferred on-line card is American Express, which seems to have developed a clever way of card checking. They ask if they can look up your location using your connection, as obviously, if that corresponds to the card and delivery addresses, there is a high chance that the transaction is genuine.
But IKEA doesn’t take Amex and as I don’t use my Visa card on-line because of the dreaded Verified-by-Visa waste of time and space, I was a bit stumped on how to order the next phase of my kitchen.
Then this morning, I tried the Visa and guess what? The Verified-by-Visa didn’t kick in. So perhaps, Nationwide and IKEA have come to my conclusion, that it is a hindrance to business against their joint interest.
Let’s hope the delivery gets through this time!
Another Bloody Sunday
I don’t often rant on this blog, but it’s Sunday and I hate them!
I’m not religious, and never have been, so I object that a minority of the population stop most of the shops from opening. At least if I could go to Waitrose now, that would solve my meal problem for today.
Today, there is only one Premier League football match on the box and that is Newcastle against Norwich. So I won’t watch that!
I hate going to the cinema or theatre alone, so I shall probably waste time all day, in endless pointless pursuits.
Why can’t Sundays be like any other day?
To make matters worse today, I felt that I’d like to go for a walk around Camden.
But the North London Line didn’t start running until an hour after I arrived.
Also today, the headline across the Sunday Times reads – Legoland and Thorpe Park – Treat the kids – 2 for 1 entry.
That is seriously funny! Especially, as I’ve never been to a Theme Park in my life!
My Kind Of Energy Company
I found this article on edie.net entitled Ovo Shuns Coal And Nuclear.
I am very much against using coal as a fuel for various reasons, but as I get older and hopefully wiser, I feel that nuclear energy is non-viable economically.
The cost of the new station at Hinkley Point doesn’t look good value for money, when compared to some of the new developments in the pipeline.
Tidal, such as the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, personal solar and linking the UK to Iceland with an undersea cable, might well prove to be better long term investments.
So I applaud OVO for their stance and will continue to use them as my energy supplier.
The Tate Modern Extension
The Tate Modern Extension is coming on.
There does seem a lot of work to do for opening next year!
Abraham Cruzvillegas At The Tate Modern
I took these pictures at the new Abraham Cruzvillegas installation in the turbine hall at the Tate Modern. It is called Empty Lot
I quite like it and it’ll be interesting to see if it grows on the visitors!
I shall be going back!
Her Majesty’s Most Disloyal Opposition
The term Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition was first used in 1826 according to Wikipedia. They say this about the terms origins.
The phrase His Majesty’s Opposition was coined in 1826, before the advent of the modern two-party system, when Parliament consisted more of interests, relationships and factions rather than the highly coherent political parties of today (although the Whigs and Tories were the two main parties). The phrase was originally coined in jest; in attacking Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in the House of Commons, John Hobhouse said jokingly, “It is said to be hard on His Majesty’s Ministers to raise objections of this character but it is more hard on His Majesty’s Opposition to compel them to take this course.”
The phrase was widely welcomed and has been in use ever since.
In my over fifty years of watching politics, I can’t remember an opposition, that to which the term Most Loyal Opposition can be least applied.
Led by one of their most-rebellious MPs, if they can’t even be loyal to each other, how can they agree on and stick to policies that might be better for the country or win them an election.
I don’t even think that the current Labour Party has enough combined loyalty to mount a challenge to any of the Government’s policies.
So can it be described as a true opposition or is it just a bunch of mal-contents, who disagree on principle waving banners and shouting tired and outdated slogans?
It is a sad day for the United Kingdom, when the term Most Loyal Opposition applies most to a party, that is only interested in one part of the country.
The Anonymous Widower 